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Detroit Residents Settle "Up In Smoke" Lawsuit
Five Detroit residents have reached a settlement to drop a lawsuit against several retailing giants, after alleging their conversations and images were illegally used in the "Up In Smoke" DVD produced by representatives of Dr. Dre in 2000.
The lawyer representing the five said that the Detroit police threatened to shut down the performance after it was deemed obscene and the five's opinions were taped without permission.
"There was a discussion behind the scenes concerning whether the DVD would come out," David Tillman of Tillman & Tillman said. "All of the discussions were backstage and it was all before the concert commenced."
Harmony House, BeMusic and Hastings Entertainment reached agreements with Gregory Bowens, the former press secretary for Mayor Dennis Archer, Recreation Department official Robert Dunlap, Phil Talbert Paula Bridges and Gary Brown.
The group was originally seeking damages totaling $3 billion.
This settlement does not release Dr. Dre from further litigation. All individuals have filed state and federal lawsuits against the super producer for "acquiring and commercial exploitation of the victims private conversations and their likenesses."
"Nobody deserves to have their private conversations illegally videotaped and sold around the world for the commercial benefit of one individual or company without their permission," said intellectual property and civil litigation attorney Glen Douglas Oliver. "Secretly videotape a private conversation with gangster rapper Dr. Dre, one of the defendants in this case and put it in a gangster rap music video without his permission and see how quickly he sues you. Just because people aren't rich, powerful and internationally famous, doesn't mean they should be exploited by those that are."
Dre won a lawsuit related to the "Up In Smoke" DVD in April of 2002. Detroit police prevented the producer from showing an explicit video during the show.
Dre won $25,000, apologies from the city of Detroit and First Amendment training for the Detroit police.
Source: allhiphop.com
The lawyer representing the five said that the Detroit police threatened to shut down the performance after it was deemed obscene and the five's opinions were taped without permission.
"There was a discussion behind the scenes concerning whether the DVD would come out," David Tillman of Tillman & Tillman said. "All of the discussions were backstage and it was all before the concert commenced."
Harmony House, BeMusic and Hastings Entertainment reached agreements with Gregory Bowens, the former press secretary for Mayor Dennis Archer, Recreation Department official Robert Dunlap, Phil Talbert Paula Bridges and Gary Brown.
The group was originally seeking damages totaling $3 billion.
This settlement does not release Dr. Dre from further litigation. All individuals have filed state and federal lawsuits against the super producer for "acquiring and commercial exploitation of the victims private conversations and their likenesses."
"Nobody deserves to have their private conversations illegally videotaped and sold around the world for the commercial benefit of one individual or company without their permission," said intellectual property and civil litigation attorney Glen Douglas Oliver. "Secretly videotape a private conversation with gangster rapper Dr. Dre, one of the defendants in this case and put it in a gangster rap music video without his permission and see how quickly he sues you. Just because people aren't rich, powerful and internationally famous, doesn't mean they should be exploited by those that are."
Dre won a lawsuit related to the "Up In Smoke" DVD in April of 2002. Detroit police prevented the producer from showing an explicit video during the show.
Dre won $25,000, apologies from the city of Detroit and First Amendment training for the Detroit police.
Source: allhiphop.com